In an upbeat trading statement for the first part of the year,  chief executive John Morgan said the group was now on track to deliver higher profits in 2018 than first forecast.

Morgan Sindall’s committed order book as at the end of March was £3.7bn, while the regeneration & development pipeline stood at £3.2bn.

The group expects that the average daily net cash for the year will be in excess of £70m.

“We have had a good start to the year and all divisions are continuing to make strategic and operational progress, ” said Morgan.

“Our balance sheet and cash position are both very strong and give us the flexibility to continue focusing on quality of earnings in our construction activities, while investing in our regeneration activities to drive long-term value. 

“Our strong order book and customer relationships enable us to look to the future with confidence.”    

He added that the Construction & Infrastructure division had delivered further margin growth as expected, while Property Services returned to profit, securing the benefit from last year’s restructuring.

Fit-out had another period of strong operational delivery. Based upon this performance and visible prospects for the rest of the year, it is now expected that the division will deliver higher than previously expected results.